Elise Harvey as Dolly in The Village Players production of “Hello Dolly,” which opens Friday.

The ah-ha destination this week might be live theater. Summer is a good time to discover what a fine stable of thespians we have working in NWA and to get out and support live theater in air-conditioned comfort.

The Boar’s Head Players will open Justin Blasdel’s “Your Last Friend, Inc.” on Wednesday. It’s the story of two small-time con men who are selling fake assisted suicide insurance. But soon the two are pondering do they skip town or should they stay and convince their customers to embrace life? The play is directed by Roger Gross and stars Vincent Berrios, Justin Cunningham, Drew Bulock, Danielle McKnight, Catherine Witherspoon and Anna Haslett. Performance are at 8 p.m. July 21-24. Tickets are $10 by calling 575-4752.

The busy Boar’s Head Players will then open “Murder and the English Gentleman: A Comedy” on July 28 for a four-night run. The quirky comedy was adapted from “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime” by Oscar Wilde. After Lord Savile receives a spot of bad news, a mysterious fortuneteller tells him that he is fated to commit murder. The play is a madcap comedy of manners with an eclectic cast of characters who scam, scheme and seduce in order to survive the prediction. The play is directed by Esteban Arevalo Ibanez and stars David Michael Seals, Caden Worley, Brandi Hoofnagle, Emily Tomlinson, Frances Wilson and Forrest Jessing. Performances are at 8 p.m. July 28-31. Tickets are $10 by calling 479-575-4752.

Meanwhile, The Village Players have embarked on the biggest production in their 27 year history, defining what community theater is all about, with more than 80 volunteer actors and crew.

The company will open “Hello, Dolly!” on Friday at the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville. The musical follows matchmaker Dolly Levi, a real firecracker who can be counted on for anything from ear piercing and corset re-boning to mandolin instruction and short distance hauling. “Hello, Dolly!” moves from a sweet love story to high comedy when Dolly sets her cap for the wealthy Horace Vandergelder.

Elise Harvey, who has been acting and directing in Atlanta for the past several years, will take the role of Dolly.

Carl Ballou will become Horace Vandegelder for the production. A resident of Rogers, by way of San Jose, Calif., Ballou is making his stage debut with The Village Players, but is no stranger to theater with more than 75 show credits ranging from acting, directing, tech and lighting design.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $17 for adults and $8 for students and are available by calling 479-273-2556 or online at bvvillageplayer.org.

The OMNI Center in Fayetteville will host “Enough Is Enough” on Friday, to bring awareness and support for a clean energy economy. The event will be at 6:30 p.m. at the center, 3274 Lee Ave. There will be an art show, silent auction, music and a gumbo supper (bring your own bowl).

One of the featured artists is Joelle Storet, whose British Petroleum series expresses the devastation and grief of the oil disaster. Storet, a student at the University of Arkansas, was born in Belgium but has lived mostly in Austria and Fayetteville. She recently made a trip to Belgium to visit family and was struck by the heart-wrenching news about the Gulf oil disaster while there. When she returned to Fayetteville, she began expressing her feelings about the spill and the handling of the spill by the media through her art. She has an illustrative style and is influenced by Belgium comics like TinTin.

The country-punk-blues duo of David Kimbrough Jr. and Stacy Nicole Mackey will perform and there will also be an open mic. Kimbrough is the son of legendary bluesman Junior Kimbrough. The multi-instrumentalist has played in his dad’s band, with members of the Staple Singers in the Precise Band, in the Kimbrough Brothers and in the Juke Joint Brothers. Mackey, a Little Rock native who now calls Fayetteville home, has performed with Little Rock bands Uptown Prophets of Armageddon, Doom Patrol, Rebel Android, Fuyu, Tiny Little Hammers, 66Crush,The Chicklettes, Sex, Transmolecularization, Negative Nancy and Lovechild.

OMNI’s Climate Change Task Force is sponsoring this event. Art sales will benefit The Joy Center, an orphanage in Kenya, one of the nations impacted by climate change. In partnership with Environment America, donations will be accepted for families impacted by the Gulf oil spill.

“We want to get together enjoy art, good food, fine music and one another’s company,” said Joanna Pollock of the Climate Change Task Force, “Everyone is trying to process this disaster in the Gulf and it is overwhelming. This can also be a time to express those feelings and give what we can to help.”

Celebration for Nancy

Nancy Cooper Maier wrote poetry, music and songs for decades. She was also the last editor of Fayetteville’s one-time alternative newspaper, the Grapevine. She died in February.

Maier finished a CD of children’s songs in 2008, but bouts with cancer prevented the CD’s official release. Her partner Marshall Carter, along with John Two Hawks and other area musicians will debut this CD, “Every Little Thing” at 7 p.m. Saturday at Fellowship Hall of the First United Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville.

Performances by Harmonia, Susan Shore, John Ray, Renee Janski, Two-Hawks and Maier’s Everyone Can Sing Community Choir will fill the evening with Maier’s original songs and diverse songs from around the world.

During her seven-year battle with cancer Maier increased her commitment to creativity and music. With Carter’s help she released her first CD, “ Love Again” in 2003, planted a peace garden, filled her home with bright acrylic paintings, added two more dogs to her existing three dog family and in 2006 began the Everyone Can Sing Choir.

Maier and Carter traveled to British Columbia where Maier graduated from the Getting Higher community choir leadership program. In subsequent years her work with both choir members and private individuals healed many an injured spirit with song.

Maier and her music were dedicated to the concept that it’s everyone’s right to sing. She believed that experiencing the harmony of voices creates an accord in the heart that can’t be duplicated. Her Everyone Can Sing Community Choir members will testify to that.

Continuing to sing and preparing for this concert after Maier’s death, provided a deep uplifting effect said choir members who are now led by one of their number, Sharon Donnelly.

Maier made a difference to Fayetteville. All who attend the concert are guaranteed to feel the beauty of her gifts, the songs that keep on singing. Proceeds from CD sales will benefit the Seven Hills Homeless Shelter and Spay Arkansas. Ginny Masullo

Celebrate Juneteenth

Celebrate the 145th anniversary of African American emancipation at a Juneteenth celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at The Jones Center in Springdale.

On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Tex., Union General Gordon Granger announced freedom for all slaves in the Southwest, the last major vestige of slavery in the U. S. After Granger’s reading of the order, former slaves celebrated jubilantly, establishing America’s second Independence Day celebration.

The NWA Juneteenth celebration will include a cookout, ice cream, guest speakers, music, games and inflatables for the kids, art displays and exhibits by local non-profit organizations. There will be a silent auction, which will benefit student scholarships at the University of Arkansas and Juneteenth T-shirts will be available for $10. This year’s keynote speaker is Paul Adams, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the UA. Free.

Party With The Dogs

Bring your dogs-or just yourself and your friends-to Dog Party USA on Saturday and howl at the summer sky in “Singing for Mutts & Meows.” Dog Party USA is hosting the benefit for Spay Arkansas, the local nonprofit organization that is working to establish a spay and neuter clinic in NWA.

This will be the first appearance by a new band, Shulertown (Shulertown, for you newbies, was the original name for the Dickson Street area). The band is made up of some veteran musicians-Jason Reddecliff, Charlie Platt, Owen McClung and Tom Lawson-who cut their chops in bands like Punkinhead, Ultra Suede, Jupiter Hollow and Mothership. Influences for the band’s original songs range from Johnny Cash to Dinosaur Jr. After showcasing some of their own songs, the band will lead a karaoke party. The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. A $15 cover (or $25 for two and younger than 12 free) gets you music, BBQ, hot dogs, libations and lots of fun. The event will end at dark. Dogs should be vaccinated and leashed.

New Music

This seems to be the week for new music, with a number of local bands rolling out new CDs and the premiere of a new musical.

Friday night, Strange Heroes will have a CD release party at George’s (see story on page 15). On Saturday night, the popular award-winning punker bluegrass band Cletus Got Shot will release their new CD “UnAmerican” at Smoke and Barrel. NAMA Band of the Year for 2009, 3 Penny Acre will have a CD release party at Greenhouse Grille on Sunday.

And, composer and musician Ryan Cockerham will rollout his musical, “Most Extreme Ocean Adventure” at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Arkansas Fine Arts Concert Hall.

Cockerham, a prolific cutting edge composer whose music travels from sounds reminiscent of Phillip Glass to hip-hop, says he struggles with boredom, so he is continually re-inventing himself within the medium of sound. He recently released two CD’s, “Rapper’s Today Vol. 1″ by his hip-hop quartet The Strut and “Gypsy Dance.”

The new musical is based on Columbus’ voyage to America and uses Columbus’ ocean crossing as the subject of a popular reality show, in which the hero must battle sea monsters, storms and rescue famous historical figures from the unpredictable sea.

“I really want to push the bounds of this genre,” Cockerham said.

A trio of actors will fill the on-stage roles and Bob Mueller, professor of composition at the UA, will conduct the live orchestra. Admission is free.

Music is raging like a wildfire this week in NWA, with the rock/jam fest Wakarusa at Mulberry Mountain and Blues Weekend in Eureka Springs. So what’s one to do once this shot-in-the-arm is over? How ’bout some classical … with a twist? If you’re thinking about a day trip next weekend, Bartlesville, Okla., is a good option. About a three- hour drive away, the 26th annual OK Mozart Festival is happening June 11-19 and features a wide variety of artists. In addition to the internationally-acclaimed classical and chamber music concert series, OK Mozart presents a variety of performing arts, including dance, jazz, pops and Broadway show tunes, as well as a full program of related cultural events.

Things will begin with a bang on Saturday, June 12, when Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey will premiere “Ludwig” with the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra. JFJO of Tulsa, Okla. — Brian Haas on piano, Josh Raymer on drums, Chris Combs on tap steel and Jeff Harshbarge

r on double bass — is known around the world. “Ludwig” consists of innovative reinterpretations of Beethoven’s 3rd and 6th symphonies into modern music.

On Sunday, June 13, Celtic Spring will play a matinee, followed by an evening presentation of a one-act play, “Time Changes Everything.” The play ponders what would have happened if Bob Wills and Woody Guthrie had met and stars Brad Piccolo and John Cooper of the Red Dirt Rangers. After the play there will be a mini-concert by the Red Dirt Rangers.

Other performances during the week include: Time for Three, two violins and a

double bass, with elements of classical, country western, gypsy, and jazz; the Spencer Prentiss Classic All-Stars with David Shifrin, Kathleen Nester and Alexander Sitkovetsky, hosted by Fred Ch

ild; Amici New York Orchestra with guest conductor JoAnn Falletta; a trio composed of Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Zakir Hussain; Concert of Concerti with the Amici New York Orchestra with guest conductor Andrew Sewell and artists Robin Sutherland, David Shifrin, and Paul Neubauer; and an evening of Gershwin.

For tickets and information, go to www.okmozart.com or call 918-336-9800.

Bartlesville is also home to Woolarc Ranch Museum and Wildlife Preserve,

and a number of architectural attractions ranging from Victorian homes to mid-century modern structures such as Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright’s only built skyscraper and the Bartlesville Community Center, designed by Wesley Peters of Wright’s Taliesin West. All are worth a visit.